Florence at the Dawn of Renaissance: Painting and Illumination, 1300-1350 December 15, 2012

From 1300 to 1350, Florence witnessed rapid civic and church growth and was home to the revolutionary painter Giotto di Bondone and the iconic literary figure Dante Alighieri. In this 50-year period, which laid the foundation for the Renaissance, accomplished and prolific Florentine panel painters and illuminators developed such genres as devotional art and narrative painting, disseminating new religious and humanist texts composed in the city at this time. In a fresh approach to this material, the exhibition incorporates new findings about artistic techniques and artists' workshops based on conservation research and scientific analysis. This major international loan exhibition reveals a more complex and nuanced picture of the beauty and creativity of artistic production in Florence at the dawn of the Renaissance.